The continuing series on first day issues, and the history behind them.
Now having started the short series with Italy, today we are doing all things French, and I have started with Marianne, who is that symbol of the French Revolution.
As one source says she is the “personification of liberty, equality, fraternity and reason, and a portrayal of the Goddess of Liberty.
Marianne is displayed in many places in France and holds a place of honour in town halls and law courts. She is depicted in the Triumph of the Republic, a bronze sculpture overlooking the Place de la Nation in Paris, and is represented with another Parisian statue in the Place de la République.
Her profile stands out on the official government logo of the country, is engraved on French euro coins, and appears on French postage stamps.
It was also featured on the former franc currency. Marianne is one of the most prominent symbols of the French Republic, and is officially used on most government documents”.*
So, no surprise then, that it appeared on this 50 centime stamp which was first issued in 1971.
Leaving me just to add the second first issue which commemorated the life of Marcechal Juin, who was a senior French Army general and later became a Marshal of France.
And given that I knew nothing about him I have again fallen back on Wikipedia, which some I know can be sniffy about but I reckon does the biz.
"A graduate of the École Spéciale Militaire class of 1912, he served in Morocco in 1914 in command of native troops. Upon the outbreak of the First World War, he was sent to the Western Front in France, where he was gravely wounded in 1915. As a result of this wound, he lost the use of his right arm.
After the war, he attended the École Supérieure de Guerre. He chose to serve in North Africa again.
After the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939, he assumed command of the 15th Motorized Infantry Division.
The division was encircled in the Lille pocket during the Battle of France and Juin was captured. He was a prisoner of war until he was released at the behest of the Vichy Government in 1941, and was assigned to command French forces in North Africa.
After Operation Torch, the invasion of Algeria and Morocco by British and American forces in November 1942, Juin ordered French forces in Tunisia to resist the Germans and the Italians.
His great skills were exhibited during the Italian campaign as commander of the French Expeditionary Corps. His expertise in mountain warfare was crucial in breaking the Gustav Line, which had held up the Allied advance for six months.
Following this assignment, he was Chief of the Staff of the French forces and represented France at the San Francisco Conference. In 1947 he returned to Africa as the Resident-General of France in Morocco, where he opposed Moroccan attempts to gain independence. Next came a senior NATO position as he assumed command of CENTAG until 1956.
During his NATO command, he was promoted to Marshal of France in 1952. He was greatly opposed to Charles De Gaulle's decision to grant independence to Algeria, and was "retired" in 1962 as a result. He was the French Army's last living Marshal of France until his death in Paris in 1967, when he was buried in Les Invalides".*
Pictures; first day of issue stamps, 1970-1971, from the collection of Stella Simpson
* Marianne, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marianne
** Alphonse Juin, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alphonse_Juin
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